Woven-wire-fence machine.



PATENTED SEPT. 22 1903.

01. JAEGBR. WOVEN WIRE FENCE MACHINE APPLICATION FILED JULY 3, L902.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

N0 MODEL.

INVENTOR WITNESSES PATENTED SEPT. 22, 1903..

G- JAEGER. WOVEN WIRE FENCE MACHINE.

v APYLIGATION FILED JULY 3, 1902.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

N0 MUDEL.

m: Noam: mans co, rumouma. wpsuma'rou, n c.-

PATENTED SEPT. 22,1903.

. G. JAEGER. WGVEN WIRE FENCE MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED JIILY 3, 1902.

' 4 SHHETSBHEET 3.

N0 MODEL.

WITNESSES QM, Ma $176M UNrrED STATES Patented September 22,

PATENT Fries.

GEBHARD JAEGER, OF MONONGAHELA, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNO R OF ONE- HALF TO ERNEST MORCHE, OF NEW YORK, N.

WOVEN-WlRE-FENCE MACHINE.

SPEGIFIGATIQN formingpart of Letters Patent N 0. 739,679, dated September 22, 1903. Application filed July 3, 1902. Serial No. 114,166. (hl'o model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GEBHARD Janene, of Monongahela city, in the county of Washington and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement.

in Woven-Wire-Fence Machines, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings,forming a part of this speci- 1o fication, in which- Figure 1 is a sectional side elevation of my improved machine. Fig. 2 is a top plan View of the same, some of the parts being omitted for clearness of illustration. Fig. 3 is a front end view. Fig. t is a crosssection on the line IV IV of Fig. 1. Fig. 5 is a detail crosssection of the machine, showing one of the weavers. Fig. 6 is a detail plan of cutters; and Fig. 7 is a' rear-end view, partly broken away.

My invention relates to that class of wovenwire-fence machines in which the staywires are wrapped about the cables by the weavers as they are fed from one cable to the other;

but my invention is designed to aiford a rotary woven-wire-fence machine in which the weaving operation is carried on continuously.

A further object of myinvention is to provide means whereby at desired intervals a portion of the woven fencing may be severed from that portion which is being'operated upon by the Weavers and withdrawn from the machine and wound upon a suitable reel.

My invention further consists in cutting mechanism by which the stay-wires are severed and in the arrangement of the weavers with respect to the cables so that the staywires are held by the cables without other gripping mechanism.

My invention further consists in providing worm driving mechanism, which enables me to dispense with gripping devices to prevent any slacking of the cable, as such worm driving mechanism eiiectually prevents the cable 5 from going back.

My invention further consists in details of construction and combination of parts more fully hereinafter described, and pointed out 7 in the claims. 0 In the drawings, 2 represents the frame of the mechanism, which consists of the base 3,

upon which are placed upright frames 4 4:, these frames serving as the supports for the drum 5, alongside of which the cable-wires 6 pass. The drum 5 is provided with sleeves 7 7 at its ends, the sleeves '7 7 being supported in a bearing 8 in the frames 44. The interior of the drun15 is hollow,- and within its hollow interior are placed gears 9, which mesh with piuions 10 on the weavers 11 The Weav- 6o era are of usual construction and do not require special description. The weavers are arranged to rotate in suitable bearings when the gears 9- are rotated by mechanism hereinafter described. The shaft 12, upon which the gears 9 are mounted, extends through the sleeves 7 7, and at its outer end is provided with a small pinion 13, which is engaged by a larger pinion-14, mount-ed upon a stud-shaft 15, carried by a suitable support 16, secured to the base-plate 3 of the machine. A rockerarm 17 is provided at one end with a pawl 18, which engages the teeth of the pinion 14 and is provided witha suitable spring 19, by which the pawl is held in engagement with the teeth of the pinion. The opposite end of the rocker-arm 17 is provided with a pitman connection 20, which is secured at its upper end to a crank-disk 21 upon the main driving-shaft 22 of the machine. On the rear face of the crank-disk 21 is located a pin or roller 23, which is adapted to engage projections 24 upon the wheel 25, secured to the sleeve 7 of the drum 5. The wheel 25 is provided uponits rear face with a roller 26 and upon its periphery with a projection 27, arranged to engage arms or fingers 28 and 29, secured to rock-shafts 30 and 31, to the opposite ends of which are secured clutch-actuating yokes 32 and 33 upon the opposite 9o sides of the main driving-shaft 22. At an intermediate point on the shafts 30 and 31 arms or fingers'34 and 35 are rigidly secured, and these arms are adapted to be engaged by suitable cams 36 and 37, which terminate at their 5 highest point in springpressed blocks 38 and 39, arranged in suitable pockets 40in a boss 41, the spring beneath the blocks being made sufficiently strong to throw out the clutches when the arms 34 and 35 are engaged by the blocks upon the gears 42 and 43. These gears are mounted upon stud-shafts 44. and 45 upon the-end of the shaft 22.

the top plate 3 of the machine and mesh with pinions 46 and 47. Upon the upper end of the shafts 48 and 49 are feed-rollers 50 and 51. The pressure-rollers 52 and 53 coact with the feed-rollers 50 and 51, respectively, and the amount of pressure upon the wires 6 as they are fed to the machine is determined by the number of liners which are used between the bearings and support. The cable-wires 6 are wrapped around the feed-rollers 50 and 51 and pass thence around guiding-sheaves 54, secured to the face of the frame 4 of the machine; The cables pass through suitable openings 55 in the frame4and lengthwise of the drum 5, passing out through semicircular slots 56 and 57 in the frame 4 at the opposite end of the machine. At suitable intervals upon the frame 4 are placed guiding-rollers 58, provided with suitable fingers 59, which embrace the cables and hold them in proper position. A portion of the cables passes around fingered guiding-wheels 60, which are loosely mounted upon suitable shafts 61 and 62 upon opposite sides of the machine. Pairs of guiding-rollers 63 and 64 are arranged so as to straighten the finished fencing after passing from the frame 4. The reels 65 and 66 are provided with the usual means for holding the ends of the cables, and these reels are driven from the driving-shaft 67 by suitable worm-gears 68 and 69, mounted upon the shafts of the reels 65 and 66, respectively. byworms 70 and 71, loosely mounted on the shaft .67, and at one end they are provided with a clutch member arranged to engage the coacting clutch members 72 and 73, which slide upon the shaft 67, hut which rotate therewith, the yokes 32 and 33 engaging the members 72 and 73, respectively. A worm 74 is rigidly secured to the drivingshaft 67 and engages a worm-wheel 75 upon The upper ends of the reels'65 and 66 are provided with suitable end sockets 65 and 66, which engage the ends of the shafts which carry the worm-gears 68 and 69. The lower end of the reels is supported by levers 76, made in halves, which engage suitable grooves in-the lower end of the reel. Asuitable'opening is provided in the base-plate 3, beneath the lower end of the reel, andwhen it is desired to disconnect the reel to remove the finished fencing wrapped thereon the levers 76 are opened and the lower end of the reel is permitted to drop into the opening in the base-plate 3, thereby disconnecting the socket 65 66 from its driving shaft. Thereel and the fence wrapped thereon may then be removed, the cable-wires being severed just in front of the pairs of guiding-rollers '63 and 64.

Upon opposite sides of the drum 5 are lo-. cated two pairs of cutters 77 and 78, preferably arranged upon the top and bottom sides of the drum. Each pair of cutters 77 and 78 is provided with guiding portions 79 and 80,.

which enter recesses in the frame 4 4'. A

The worm-gears 68 and'69 are driven which extend through the cutters 77 and 78,

respectively. Leaf-springs and 86 bear upon the projecting portion of the rollershafts and normally hold the cutters in a retracted position. The inner edges of the cutters 77'and 78 are suitably notched, as shown in the drawings, to provide for the passage of the weavers 11. The front end of the bars 81 and 82 is connected to bell-crank levers 87 and 88, pivoted in suitable brackets on the frame 4 of the machine. The other arm of the bell-crank levers is provided with antifriction-rollers 89, which engage acam-groove in the rear face of the wheel 25. The camgroove 90 is provided fora short portion of its circumference with a cutter-operating portion a (1, arranged to move the rollers 89 and the bell-cranks connected thereto outwardly, and thereby cause an endwise movement of the bars 81 and 82, and as the inclined portion 83 of the bars engage the rollers 84 the cutters are moved into them at the proper time and the stay-wires upon one side of the machine are severed.

Assuming the parts of the'machine to be in the positions shown in the drawings, that portion of the cables upon the right of the center of the machine is receiving a wrapping of the stay-wires and the weavers are rotating, and the cables upon the left of the center, having been severed from the other portion of the fence by the cutters, are being drawn through the machine and wound upon the reel 65. Power is applied to the drivingshaft67 by means of suitable belt connections, as shown, and as the shaft rotates the worm and worm-gear 74 and 75 cause the shaft 22 to rotate and the crank-disk 21, mounted thereon, in the direction of the arrow shown in Fig. 3 of the drawings, The pitman 20, connected thereto, depresses the rocker-arm 17, andthereby causes its opposite end, carrying the pawl 18, to move upwardly, and thereby turns the gear-wheel 14 in the direction of the arrow, and this gear in turn causes the small gear 13 upon'the shaft 12 to rotate in the direction shown, and as the shaft rotates the gears 9, mounted thereon, rotate the weavers 11, causing the stay-wires to wrap about the cable, which lies in the groove of the weaver, as shown in Fig. 5. This arrangement of gearing between the shaft 22 and the weaver,operati.ng shaft 12, imparts to the latter an intermittent rotation. As shown in the drawings, the weaver makes three and one-half wraps about the cable for every half-revolution of the weaver-shaft; but it will be understood that this may be varied, if desired. As the crankdisk 21 revolves, the roller 23 upon its rear face engages one of the projections 24, and the length of time that said pin or roller is Y the drum carrying thesame is continued until the weaver stands diametrically opposite to the position shown in Fig. 5 of the drawings, at which time the portions'a, a of the" cam-groove90 engage the rollers on the bellcranks 87 and 88 and operate the cutters 77 and 7 8, thereby severing the two fences which have been woven on opposite sides of the drum, the cables being moved inwardly by thebars 81 and 82 and being retract-ed by the leaf-springs 85 and 86 when the bellcranks 87 and 88 are moved into the portions b b of the cam-groove 90. The roller 26 then engages the arm 28 on the rock-shaft 30, and thereby rocks the arm 34, which is resting upon the spring-pressed plunger 36, thereby depressing the same and at the same time closing the clutch member 72 through the medium of the yoke 32. This movement of the clutch member 72 causes it to engage with its coacting member on the worm 70, and thereby starts the rotation of the reel through the medium of the worm -,gear 68 upon its operating-shaft. This rotation of the reel draws the finished fence upon this side of the machine through the frame 4 and the guiding-rollers 61 and 62, 63 and 64 and wraps it upon the reel. The cable-wires 6, which are wrapped about the feed-roller 50,

' cause the pinion L6 to rotate, and thereby rotate the gear 42 with greater or less speed, according to the diameter of the fence previously coiled upon the reel, and as soon as one rotation is completed the clutch is automatically disengaged by the cam 36 and the spring-pressed plunger 38, which forms a continuation thereof. During the time that the finished fencing upon this side of the machine is being drawn through and wound upon the reel the weaving operation upon the opposite side of the machine has been continued, as just described. The cams 36 and 37 and the plungers 3S and 39operate alternately, and the weaving and drawingthrough operations take place upon the alternate sides of the machine in succession. Causing the feedingin of the cables to be regulated by the size of the coil of finished fence upon the reel and providing automatic means whereby the feeding in is discontinued when the desired length of the cables has been drawn through is very important, and I believe this feature of my invention to be This movement of the wheel 25 and This intermitbroadly new, as well as the continuous operation of the weavers and the, placing of the cable-wires upon opposite sides of the rot-ating drum. I

The advantages of my invention result, as heretofore stated, from being enabled to make the operation of the weaving continuous and at the same time provide cutting mechanism whereby at proper intervals of time the completed portion of the fence may be severed from that upon which the weaving is only partially completed and in mechanism whereby the completed fence is drawn through the machine and-wrapped upon the reel, the coiling operation regulating the feeding in ofthe cables and the length of time occupied by this operation without interfering with the operation of the weavers.

rived therefrom will be readily appreciated by those familiar with woven-wire-fence ma-v chines, as I am enabled by my construction to greatly increase the output of fence. The

automatic, the operation being carried on The accom plish-i. ment of these ends and the advantages decontinuously after the usual connection of the cable-wires upon the reels has been made.

Many changes may be made in the form .and arrangement of parts by the skilled mechanic without departing from my invention,

since I claim-- v 1. A rotary woven-wire-fence machine,com-

prising cable feeding and guiding devices,

strand-wire-weaving mechanism, a rotary device whereby said weavingmechanism is car ried from one cable to the next succeeding one, and weaver-rotating mechanism, whereby the strand-wires are wrapped upon the cable; substantially as described.

2. A woven-wire-fence machine, comprisreeling mechanism to which said cables are secured at oneend,strand-wire-weaving mechanism whereby said weaving -mechanism is carried from one cable to the next succeeding one, weaver rotating devices whereby the strand-wires are wrapped upon the cable, cutters arranged to sever the strand-wires-at me IOC . I no ing cable feeding and guiding mechanisimi determined intervals, and automatic devices arranged to set the reels in motion, whereby the finished fence is wound thereon, the

weaver mechanism continuing the weaving operation during said winding of the finished fence upon the reel; substantially as ,described. a

3. A rotary woven-wire-fence machine,com-

prising cable feeding and guiding devices, a

drumover which said cables are passed in the direction of its axis, and weavers supported thereon, strand-wires carried thereby, and mechanism whereby said drum is rotated from one cable to the next succeeding one, and;

mechanism wherebythe weavers are rotated when the drum is held against rotation; substantially as described.

4. A rotary woven-wire-fence machine,comprising cable feeding and guiding devices, a drum over which said cables are passed in the direction of its axis, weavers supported thereon, strand wires carried by said weavers,

mechanism whereby said drum is rotated from one cable to the next succeeding one, and other mechanism whereby the weavers are rotated and wrap the strand-wires upon the cable while said drum is held against rotation, saiddrum supporting the strand-wires and cables; substantially as described.

5. A rotary woven-wire-fence machine,comprising cable feeding and guiding devices, a drum over which said cables are passed in the direction of its axis, weavers supported thereon, strand wires carried by said weavers, mechanism whereby said dru m is rotated from one cable to the next succeeding one, and other mechanism whereby the weavers are rotated and wrap the strand-wires upon the cable while said drum is held against rotation, said drum supporting the strandwires and cables, and cutters arranged to sever said strand-wires at predetermined intervals, and reeling mechanism arranged to wind up the finished fence upon the same, and weaver and drum operating mechanism arranged to continue the weaving operation while the fence is being wound upon the reel; substantially as described.

6. A woven-wire-fence machine, comprising cable feeding and guiding devices, a rotary weaver and strand-wire carrying drum against which said cables lie, said cables extending longitudinally of the drum and said strand-wires transversely thereto by the rotation of the drum, and mechanism for rotating the drum and Weavers at proper intervals; substantially as described.

7. A woven-wire-fence machine, comprising cable feeding and guiding devices, a ro-. tary weaver and strand-wire carrying drum against which said cables lie, said cables extending longitudinally of the drum, mechanism for rotating the weavers and the drum at proper intervals, and cutting mechanism by which the finished fencing is severed, and reeling mechanism by which it is drawn out of the machine; substantially as described.

8. A woven-wire-fence machine, comprising a rotary drum, cable feeding and guiding devices, said guiding devices being arranged to hold the cables in proper position against the surface of the drum, weavers carrying strand-wires mounted upon said drum, and mechanism for rotating the drum from one cable to the next, and weaver-rotating mechanism arranged to rotate the same when the drum is at rest; substantially as described.

9. A woven-wire-fence machine, compris ing cable feeding and guiding devices, said guiding devices being arranged to hold the cables in proper position against the surface of the drum, an intermittentlyoperating mechanism arranged to rotate said drum and carry the weavers from one cable to the next succeeding one and to rotate the weavers when this rotation of the drum has carried the weavers to the next succeeding cable, and

other intermittently-operating mechanism whereby the weavers are rotated and the strand-wires are wrapped about the cable; substantially as described.

10. A woven-wire-fence machine, comprising cable feeding, supporting, weaving, guiding and severing devices, in combination with reeling mechanism, whereby the severed finished fencing is drawn from the machine while the weaving operation upon the unfinished portion is continued, and automatic starting and stopping devices arranged to control said reeling mechanism and the feeding of the cables into the machine; substan- ,tially as described.

11. A rotary woven-wire-fence machine, comprising cable feeding and guiding devices arranged concentrically about a rotary drum, cables passing through said guiding devices and resting against the surface of the drum, weaver and strand-wire carrying mechanism mounted upon the rotary drum arranged to wrap said strand-wires upon the cables; substantially as described.

12. A rotary Woven-wire-fence machine, comprising cable feeding and guiding devices arranged concentrically about a rotary drum, cables passing through said guiding devices and resting against the surface of the drum, weaver and strand -wire carrying mechanism arranged to wrap said strand-wires upon the cables, cutting mechanism whereby the strand-wires are severed at predetermined intervals, permitting the finished fence formed upon one half of the drum to be withdrawn from the machine, and drum-rotating and weaving mechanism arranged to continue the weaving-operation during the withdrawal of the finished fence and the feeding in of the cables; substantially as described.

13. A woven-wire-fence machine, comprising cable feeding and guiding devices, said guiding devices being arranged at unequal distances apart and concentric with the periphery of the rotary weaver and strand-wire carrying drum, against which said cables lie, an intermittently-actuated feed arranged to give an unequal amount of rotation to the drum corresponding to the distance between the cable-guides, and an intermittently-actuated weaver-rotating mechanism arranged to wrap the strand-wires about the cable when said weaver is brought into proper position with respect to the cable and the drum-rotating mechanism is idle; substantially as described.

14. A woven-wire-fence machine, comprising cable feeding and guiding devices, said guiding devices being arranged at unequal distances apart and concentricwith the periphery of the rotary weaver and strand-wire IIO ' weaving operation being carried on uninter carrying drum, against which said cables lie;

an intermittently-actuated feed arranged to give an unequal amonntof rotation to the drum corresponding to'the distance between the cable-guides, an intermittently-actnated weaver-rotatingmechanism arranged to Wrap the strand-wires about the cable when said weaver is brought into proper position with respect to the cable and the drum-rotating meehanisn1 is id1e,'eutti ng' mechanism by which the finishedfence upon one half of the drum is severed from the unfinished portion upon the other half, and reeling mechanism automatically actuated and stopped, whereby the finished fence is wound upon the reel, the

ruptedly during the withdrawal of said' finished portion; substantially as described. 15. A woven-Wire-fenoemachine, comprising cable feeding and guiding devices, a r0- tary weaver and strand-wire carrying drum, against which said cables lie, worm' -driven mechanism whereby the'rotation of the drum.

and the weavers is effected, and intermittently actuated connections between said drum and Weaver-rotating mechanism and said Worm-driven mechanism; substantially as described.

16. A woven-wire-fence machine, compris- 'ing cable feeding and guiding devices, a rotary weaver and strand-wire carrying drum, against which said cabies lie, worm-driven 'meehanism whereby the rotation of the drum GEBHARD JAEGER.

Witnesses:

A M. STE N, JAMES K.'BAKEWELL. 

